Tag Archives: prayer

Maundy Thursday

April 17th, 2025 | Dr. Charlie Self

Key Scriptures: Matthew 26:26-75; Mark 14:22-72; Luke 22:14-71; John 17:1-18:27

We are now in the central act of this divine drama of salvation. Notice the extensive details in all the Gospels. Floyd McClung, summarizing our Lord’s Passion, declared, “The Lord used a criminal act of evil persons against an innocent man and turned this into the foundation of their forgiveness.”

This is the moment of Jesus’ agonizing prayer and personal decision to take up the Cross. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we have a window into Jesus’ human feelings. Jesus knew it was God’s plan, yet the suffering (and horrible separation) of the Cross caused him to cry out to the Father, and, after his cry, to submit to God’s plan for our salvation. We were the “joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:1-3) that propelled this decisive act of love. As he is crying out, John 17 lets us know that he is interceding for both his immediate disciples and for all believers. Jesus prays that we would be holy, united, and walk in love, just as God is holy, One, and love.

We also see Peter denying Jesus and then repenting of his cowardice. In Luke 22:31-34 Jesus predicts Peter’s denial – and eventual restoration! This is why the Mark 16:7 tells the astonished women, “Go tell the disciples and Peter…” that Jesus is alive. This is why Jesus asks Peter three times in John 21, “Do you love me?” With each affirmation of Peter, Jesus restores and commissions. What a wonderful Lord who restores us when we cry out to him.

Jesus is arrested and his (mis)trials begin. First, he appears before the religious leaders and remains mostly silent as they accuse him of blasphemy. He affirms that he is the Messiah and King. The religious leaders were threatened by Jesus’s words and works. Their delicate political situation with the Roman Empire would be threatened if the people rallied around Jesus as King. As evening turns to morning, the final trials come.

As we ponder the pathway of our Lord, will we choose divine love over human power, offering our lives for God’s glory and the good of others? Today is a good day to bring all past mistakes and regrets that still haunt our memories and realize that we serve a God of restoration. Though not all consequences are always removed, we can live with a clean conscience and hope for the future because Jesus is praying for us.

A Prayer of Consecration

January 24th, 2021 | Dr. Charlie Self

As we lament and repent, we are also called to a new hope, a new obedience rooted in love and the fear of the Lord. Here is a prayer for us to align ourselves with God’s reign. In the coming weeks I will be offering serious critiques of issues and policies from the new administration, as well as insights on geopolitical hot spots around the world. All of this must be rooted in prayer.

Holy and Loving Lord,

We offer these words of consecration with humility, trusting only in your mercy. We plead that you will empower us to put off all that enslaves and ensnares us, and put on a new heart, mind, and will that honor you and serve others well. Help us, O God:

To put off all idolatry. Forgive us for crafting a deity to our own liking, either reducing you to a feeling or capitulating to fatalism. We put on awe and reverence and submit to you on your terms. We put off using our perceptions of your guidance as an excuse for manipulation of power. We put boldness and courage that aims to serve. We put off the idols of ideology, cherry-picking Bible verses to suit our opinions and refusing to listen to the voices of others who also cry out to you. We put on engagement in the public square with prophetic distance, allowing us to confirm and critique from a pure heart. We put off the idolatry of self-fulfillment, choosing to follow in the pathway of Jesus, who, secure in his identity, became a servant, our sacrifice for sin, and now as the Risen Lord, a preview of our future.
To put off all immorality. Forgive us for excusing the sins of those we like and magnifying the mistakes of those we hate. Forgive us for replacing intimacy with you with unholy substitutes objectifying others and escaping from reality. We put on agape love, seeing everyone we meet as sister or brother made in your image. We put on delight in prayer, learning to listen to you as well as pour out our hearts. We put off the immorality of greed and lust for power and put on the virtues of diligence, generosity, and stewardship of your gifts and opportunities.
To put off all injustice. Forgive us for blindness to systems that keep too many from access, equity, and opportunity. Help us put on advocacy and actions so all can flourish. Forgive us for ceremonial gestures without substance and hospitality that is hollow, expecting others to conform to our expectations. We put on listening ears, and an open table where you are present. We put off avoiding uncomfortable contemporary and historical issues and our tendencies to choose narratives that conform to our preferences. We put on a fearless pursuit of the truth, knowing you are at work in and through all circumstances.

Gracious Lord, empower our repentance and resolve. Keep our hearts tender and our minds discerning. We put off our self-deception that displaces your eternal principles with our human preferences. We put off naïve nationalism and visceral hatred of our country and put on humility for our deep flaws and hopefulness that our highest values may be realized. Have mercy on our land, and every land. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Two Prayers for America

October 13th, 2020 | Dr. Charlie Self

America is not a chosen nation, but she has many chosen people praying and living with integrity that have helped her be a blessing to the world. Our story also includes horrific compromise of our highest ideals, especially our treatment of the indigenous peoples and African Americans. We can love our land and lament our sins. We can improve our nation without destroying her ideals. And prayer must be underneath the laments and longings for justice.

Prayer is God’s invitation to participate in his divine mission to reconcile and redeem, renew and restore all things. Our almighty, sovereign Lord has decided that our humble petitions, compassionate intercessions, and persevering supplications matter in fulfilling his will on earth as it is in heaven.

Here are two short prayers for our nation. There is no pretense here that just the right words will somehow manipulate God – that would be pagan superstition. Instead, our prayers, in alignment with Holy Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit, become a force for good in a world enmeshed in evil. In these days of pandemic and polarization, political passions and personal animosities, humble prayer may make the difference between mercy and judgment for our land.

Prayer for Peace of Mind and Divine Presence in Our Land

O God, you are transcendent and immanent. You are totally other; totally different from us. But you are also Immanuel, God with us. You were delighted to dwell among us in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ. What grace! You are the God who comes close. Lord, come close to our national leaders. Come close to the justices that sit on the Supreme Court. Come close to those in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Come close to our local leaders – our police departments, mayors, and governors. Come close, dear Master, to those in laboratories that are feverishly developing a vaccine for this virus. Come close, Dear God, to peaceful protestors, the abused, the hungry, the bewildered, the outraged, the motherless, the fatherless, the dying, the mourning, the widow, the disabled, the oppressed, and the immigrant. Lord, come close to us, in cul-de-sacs, hamlets, towns, rural areas, cities, and suburbs. Come close, dear Lord, to those who are easing back into the workplace with trepidation. Omnipresent Lord, please share your closeness with all of us, everyone on the face of this globe. In Jesus’ majestic and mighty name, Amen.

Prayer for Humility and Wisdom

O Lord, you are infinite and intimate, and the Source of all that is good. You promised wisdom for the humble who seek you and search for truth. You promised wisdom as we pray and trust you. Your wisdom is pure, peaceable, and leads to peacemaking and righteousness. Lord, we need your wisdom as we confront the injustices all around us and the unrighteousness in our own hearts. We need wisdom to lament and repent well. We need your wisdom to cultivate new relationships across all the barriers in our world. We need wisdom to reform social structures that keep millions from flourishing. We need wisdom for our businesses, churches, families, communities, cities, and nation. We humbly plead that you will grant wisdom. We also accept your wisdom from the mouths of the marginalized and oppressed, the voices of history, and the prophets calling us to holiness. And we thank you in advance for your generosity toward us, even when it means surgery in our souls. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Americans, indigenous , African Americans, justice, Holy Spirit, mission, nation, prayer, Senate, House of Representatives, virus, police, wisdom

Daily Prayers

September 19th, 2016 | Dr. Charlie Self

As we worship, let’s consider awakening each day with a simple prayer:
Lord, by your grace and power, may all I feel and think, say and do add to the beauty of your world and bring value to all.

Today I choose blessing over cursing, reconciliation over conflict, peacemaking over polemics and service over selfishness.

I cannot do this in my own strength.

Sovereign Spirit, envision, encourage and empower my efforts for the glory of the Father and Son and the good of others.

Amen.